Wi(red)Fi

That picture of Pembroke is clearly doctored, because there's no Tim Hortons in the background.

RayS2010-04-16 09:05

Obviously the BBQ has USB ports so I can plug in my USB fan, and keep myself cool.

Now if only it had hard wired wifi, it would be the perfect BBQ.

Nibh2010-04-16 09:09

I love hard-wired wifi. It's capable of gigabit transfer rates, is harder to eavesdrop on, works better in densely populated areas, and is less susceptible to electromagnetic interference. Where's the WTF?

Fenris2010-04-16 09:09

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

fjf2010-04-16 09:10

Comment on article

Crash2010-04-16 09:11

I don't see the problem. Their Wi-Fi is just backwards compatible. /sarcasm

Barbie2010-04-16 09:14

Actually, I'm rooting for the superstition on the pump one.
if (pump == 13) // geez, nobody wants to be on _that_ pump
{
// we'll make people feel cozy. Like in planes.
pump = 14;
}

frits2010-04-16 09:21

fjf:

Comment on article

++

Koen2010-04-16 09:24

Reply to comment goes here

JuanCarlosII2010-04-16 09:25

The BBQ one is totally not a WTF. How can you make an already awesome product awesomer? Add USB!

Adam2010-04-16 09:32

Haha, I've stayed in that hotel in Pembroke a while back. At that time they only supplied Wireless Wi-Fi. I wonder how the speeds of the Hard-Wired Wi-Fi are...

re:me2010-04-16 09:35

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Swiping your card at one Point of Sale and having the receipt print at another simply isn't a good thing. In fact, i'd wonder if it meets PCI standards.

BillyTheSquid2010-04-16 09:37

Theoretically, it's wifi to the hotel, and wired to the rooms.... or each room is wired, with a wifi access point. Or it's a guarantee that the wifi adaptor in your computer uses wires of some sort.

NSCoder2010-04-16 09:41

I prefer my barbecues with firewire.

Steve The Cynic2010-04-16 09:41

BillyTheSquid:

Theoretically, it's wifi to the hotel, and wired to the rooms.... or each room is wired, with a wifi access point. Or it's a guarantee that the wifi adaptor in your computer uses wires of some sort.

More likely it's a dimwit who thinks that Wifi == Internet Access.

Scott2010-04-16 09:42

Call of shenanigans.

(captcha: amet - lorem ipsum dolor sit amet)

Anomynous Coward2010-04-16 09:45

USB WTF BBQ?

Sorry, couldn't resist. Sadly I suspect the Wifi one is just because more people know what "wifi" means than "broadband internet access".

OMG2010-04-16 09:47

NSCoder:

I prefer my barbecues with firewire.

+1

Robert2010-04-16 09:51

NSCoder:

I prefer my barbecues with firewire.

I could go for a WiFi BBQ

Docta Jonez2010-04-16 09:57

While(1); { "hard wired wifi" : "I call shenanigans", "WTF" : true }

nobulate2010-04-16 09:57

Comment TechnologyDescription of Comment

snoofle2010-04-16 09:59

Trying to rationalise the USB port on the BBQ...

It can warn you when it's running low on propane.
It can warn you when your steak is getting too well done.
It can tell you that it's time to flip your burger.
It can piggy back your internet connection and order more of whatever it is you are cooking and have it delivered to your location.
It could interface with google maps, infa-red subsystem, which could zero in on your BBQ's exact location via an internal GPS, and provide accurate food-temperature readings.
It can be infected with malware which would raise (lower) the temp and burn your dinner (give you botulism).
You could replace your Win-BBQ OS with *nix-BBQ because real chefs BBQ with *nix!

ContraCorners2010-04-16 10:10

I almost missed the line about hard-wired WIFI because I was too busy trying to figure out why they were bragging about being rated somewhere between 3 and 5 stars.

Obviously the BBQ has USB ports so I can plug in my USB fan, and keep myself cool.

Now if only it had hard wired wifi, it would be the perfect BBQ.

I was thinking along similar lines, but I am a hardware geek and could think of several things that would be cool, temperature sensing delivered to your laptop, remote burner control, webcam on the cooking food etc...

avflinsch2010-04-16 10:30

BillyTheSquid:

Theoretically, it's wifi to the hotel, and wired to the rooms.... or each room is wired, with a wifi access point. Or it's a guarantee that the wifi adaptor in your computer uses wires of some sort.

I stayed at a Best Western about a year ago, wifi in common areas - front lobby, coffee shop, around the pool, wired in the rooms.

WhiskeyJack2010-04-16 10:31

ContraCorners:

I almost missed the line about hard-wired WIFI because I was too busy trying to figure out why they were bragging about being rated somewhere between 3 and 5 stars.

Maybe it varies. I only book rooms there on 5-star days.

As for the Future Shop (open box) WTF, yeah, it happens. Obviously there must have been a price drop or a sale on the video card since the time the Open Box sticker was applied. The typical Open Box sticker is supposed to be 10-15% below the regular selling price, so if you ask a salesperson to adjust the price, they'd probably sell it to you for $95-99.

And, yeah, I've seen that YouTube error before. Strange.

operagost2010-04-16 10:33

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Your abuse, of commas, is excruciating, to say the least. And you might be right on the first point, but dead wrong on the second. The UNC path is irrelevant on a mapped drive-- that's the point of mapping it.

smbarbour2010-04-16 10:38

re:me:

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Swiping your card at one Point of Sale and having the receipt print at another simply isn't a good thing. In fact, i'd wonder if it meets PCI standards.

I don't think there would be a PCI compliance issue (unless the POS systems are non-compliant anyway) since the full card number and expiration date are not allowed to appear on the receipt. Depending on how the units are configured, they may not even print the cardholder's name on the receipt.

FWIW, I work for an acquirer

Anonanon2010-04-16 10:38

USB BBQ!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=usb+bbq

Anonymous2010-04-16 10:44

Fenris:

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

This is simply not true and it is very easy to prove. Create a directory path that's about 250 chars long, map it to a drive letter, then try to create a 10 character file on your mapped drive. This will result in a full path of 260 chars (longer than is allowed by Windows) but as long as you create it on your mapped drive it will work perfectly.

If you're going to make wild assumptions you could at least test them before posting them as fact.

Verm2010-04-16 10:45

"I spotted this on a gas pump in Tennessee while driving cross country," Alexander Underhill notes, "it was on pump #13, and there were no similar signs on any of the other pumps. This leads me to believe that every other pump printed to its own printer, but both 13 and 14 print to 14. I'm really not sure what kind of error would cause this."

Perhaps the pump 14 printer is just broken and they've re-rerouted it to 13?

smbarbour2010-04-16 10:49

operagost:

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Your abuse, of commas, is excruciating, to say the least. And you might be right on the first point, but dead wrong on the second. The UNC path is irrelevant on a mapped drive-- that's the point of mapping it.

The path is not irrelevant. Mapping the drive will shorten the path on the computer that has it mapped, but the path length is still constrained on the host file system. TRWTF is having a naming scheme for folders so convoluted that you approach the path length limit. That said, since this is a Microsoft product, you would think that they might use the most flexible form of their own API, which would allow a maximum path length of 32,767 characters (instead of the standard form with a max of 256 characters)

Veritass2010-04-16 10:57

The reason the BBQ is discounted is because it only has USB 2.0. I am waiting for this year's model to come out with USB 3 before I bother getting one. My BBQing requires the additional throughput.

Anonymously Yours2010-04-16 10:59

Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

A Gould2010-04-16 11:00

sd:

That picture of Pembroke is clearly doctored, because there's no Tim Hortons in the background.

It is entirely possible to have a Canadian picture without a Tim Hortons in it.

Usually, it's because the Timmy's is immediately behind you.

Kensey2010-04-16 11:01

smbarbour:

operagost:

The UNC path is irrelevant on a mapped drive-- that's the point of mapping it.

The path is not irrelevant. Mapping the drive will shorten the path on the computer that has it mapped, but the path length is still constrained on the host file system.

But on the host file system, this is all handled by the API, which has a much higher path length limit than Explorer.

I ran into this issue weekly at my last job, where many of our users created Byzantine folder structures on their mapped drives in an effort at security through obscurity. Typical symptoms were "I created a new file in Word [which worked OK because Word creates the file through the API] but now I can't open it [because Explorer can't handle a path that long]".

Maurits2010-04-16 11:02

smbarbour:

Mapping the drive will shorten the path on the computer that has it mapped, but the path length is still constrained on the host file system.

... which is not necessarily Windows-based, and therefore may not be subject to the MAX_PATH limit.

Henning Makholm2010-04-16 11:06

The logo to the left of the BBQ monstrosity is that of the Australian Gas Association. Down there it is not "just in time for summer".

Erik2010-04-16 11:18

Personally, I'm just confused about what the hell the OfficeMax chart is trying to tell me. Magic be damned, what the hell is this?

Coyne2010-04-16 11:21

snoofle:

Trying to rationalise the USB port on the BBQ...

It can warn you when it's running low on propane.
It can warn you when your steak is getting too well done.
It can tell you that it's time to flip your burger.
It can piggy back your internet connection and order more of whatever it is you are cooking and have it delivered to your location.
It could interface with google maps, infa-red subsystem, which could zero in on your BBQ's exact location via an internal GPS, and provide accurate food-temperature readings.
It can be infected with malware which would raise (lower) the temp and burn your dinner (give you botulism).
You could replace your Win-BBQ OS with *nix-BBQ because real chefs BBQ with *nix!

But if I can't also get an extra burner that plugs into the USB, what good is it?

Usher2010-04-16 11:31

avflinsch:

RayS:

Obviously the BBQ has USB ports so I can plug in my USB fan, and keep myself cool.

Now if only it had hard wired wifi, it would be the perfect BBQ.

I was thinking along similar lines, but I am a hardware geek and could think of several things that would be cool, temperature sensing delivered to your laptop, remote burner control, webcam on the cooking food etc...

All you need is an old computer in front with an eject command to the CDRom drive to flip your burgers....

Yes Indeed2010-04-16 11:50

wtfbbq!!111!1!!

noway!2010-04-16 11:54

snoofle:

Trying to rationalise the USB port on the BBQ...

It can [do lots of stuff]

Don't forget that it can also twitter all of this for you.

(Almost used the word 'twit' as a verb for posting at twitter there.)

GalacticCowboy2010-04-16 11:57

So you put another logon the fire, then download the steak. I like mine with a little salt, then rotate halfway through for perfect hash marks. Pair with some alcohol (52%) and a great view through the windows...

Coyne:

snoofle:

Trying to rationalise the USB port on the BBQ...

It can warn you when it's running low on propane.
It can warn you when your steak is getting too well done.
It can tell you that it's time to flip your burger.
It can piggy back your internet connection and order more of whatever it is you are cooking and have it delivered to your location.
It could interface with google maps, infa-red subsystem, which could zero in on your BBQ's exact location via an internal GPS, and provide accurate food-temperature readings.
It can be infected with malware which would raise (lower) the temp and burn your dinner (give you botulism).
You could replace your Win-BBQ OS with *nix-BBQ because real chefs BBQ with *nix!

But if I can't also get an extra burner that plugs into the USB, what good is it?

The problem with an external burner is it costs you twice as much for the same performance. On the upside, it is hot-swappable.

ContraCorners2010-04-16 12:00

GalacticCowboy:

The problem with an external burner is it costs you twice as much for the same performance. On the upside, it is hot-swappable.

*VERY* hot swappable

Pete2010-04-16 12:04

It's not irrelevant the unc path is still the true path. I have run into many issues in vista and 7 when giving programs a mapped drive path as oppose to the unc one.

Maurits2010-04-16 12:05

Erik:

Personally, I'm just confused about what the hell the OfficeMax chart is trying to tell me. Magic be damned, what the hell is this?

Block size, maybe?

Anonymous2010-04-16 12:13

Maurits:

Erik:

Personally, I'm just confused about what the hell the OfficeMax chart is trying to tell me. Magic be damned, what the hell is this?

Block size, maybe?

I'm guessing the top row is supposed to be in MB not GB, and it's telling you the approximate number of pictures that can be held on a card of each size.

I don't know of many cameras that can save 24GB RAW images, but my camera is around 10MB per image when saving as RAW.

NZ2010-04-16 12:18

It could also have been a SUBST drive. I've run into some products where MSI does not like SUBST drives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subst

Plastic Man2010-04-16 12:21

Maurits:

Erik:

Personally, I'm just confused about what the hell the OfficeMax chart is trying to tell me. Magic be damned, what the hell is this?

Block size, maybe?

I think it's supposed to be the number of files that will fit on a flash memory card, given the file size and the card size. But the chart is just WAY out of whack no matter which way you look at it.

StDoodle2010-04-16 12:28

The plotter WTF is fairly common; a lot of large-format printers (especially older models) have hard-coded margins in them, which can't be exceeded in any software-only way. Trust me, I've been forced to print my share of 1:0.99 scale drawings. :(

coog2010-04-16 12:34

Nibh:

I love hard-wired wifi. It's capable of gigabit transfer rates, is harder to eavesdrop on, works better in densely populated areas, and is less susceptible to electromagnetic interference. Where's the WTF?

Must visit Pembroke Inn.
Not only do they have a wired wifi, but a free-hard one.

Or is that something perverse I don't want to know about?

Goo2010-04-16 12:44

re:me:

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Swiping your card at one Point of Sale and having the receipt print at another simply isn't a good thing. In fact, i'd wonder if it meets PCI standards.

It probably does, because the receipt shouldn't have enough information to identify you or your credit card. You can display the last 4 digits of a card all you want, and store them in plaintext if you want to

dcardani2010-04-16 12:56

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

I hope I never have to use any software you wrote. If the path is really too long, it should tell you in some way that the fully-qualified version of the path that you've mapped to V:\vs8 is too long. It shouldn't say that a 6 character path is too long. So it is most definitely a WTF!

re:me2010-04-16 13:05

Goo:

re:me:

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Swiping your card at one Point of Sale and having the receipt print at another simply isn't a good thing. In fact, i'd wonder if it meets PCI standards.

It probably does, because the receipt shouldn't have enough information to identify you or your credit card. You can display the last 4 digits of a card all you want, and store them in plaintext if you want to

True, but it still seems wrong to me to intentionally print my receipt where someone else may pick it up. At the very least, it could deny me a receipt.

Jaime2010-04-16 13:07

re:me:

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Swiping your card at one Point of Sale and having the receipt print at another simply isn't a good thing. In fact, i'd wonder if it meets PCI standards.

I've spent way too much time staring it the PCI-DSS spec. As long as they aren't stupid enough to put more than the last four digits of the card number on the receipt, or any other data from the magnetic stripe on the card, then it's not an issue. If they are stupid enough to put sensitive data on the receipt, then they're in for a world of rediculous requirements, like installing anti-virus software on the embedded OS of the pump.

ContraCorners2010-04-16 13:15

Jaime:

re:me:

Fenris:

The one about the pump, shows software flexibility, not a WTF, broken printer in pump 13, redirect ticket to pump 14.

The one about V:\vs8, if V is a mapped driver, the installation directory can be larger than the limit, and still show as V:\vs8

So, 2 non WTFs

Swiping your card at one Point of Sale and having the receipt print at another simply isn't a good thing. In fact, i'd wonder if it meets PCI standards.

I've spent way too much time staring it the PCI-DSS spec. As long as they aren't stupid enough to put more than the last four digits of the card number on the receipt, or any other data from the magnetic stripe on the card, then it's not an issue. If they are stupid enough to put sensitive data on the receipt, then they're in for a world of rediculous requirements, like installing anti-virus software on the embedded OS of the pump.

But on embedded systems that don't have a file system...

oh the hell with it

Worf2010-04-16 13:27

I've seen the open box one a lot. It happens because the item goes on sale, so the tag is updated (it's changed weekly), but naturally, they don't ever reprint the open-box tags.

That being said, you can either pay the sale price, or if you ask the guy nicely, he'll take the discount for open box and apply it on the sale price. So if they took 20% off the first time, he'll take 20% off the lower sale price.

Requires asking nicely though. A skill most people don't have.

badcaseofspace2010-04-16 13:31

Msiexec DOES resolve the UNC path of the mapped network drive, because it doesn't necessarily run as the user account or in the desktop session that is running the installation (in case of Remote Desktop or elevated installations). That also means that msiexec does not necessarily know about the existence of the mapped drive. 1320 is a common error, not only for VS2005. This behavior was changed after Win2000.

Mike2010-04-16 13:32

It took me a while, but the chart shows how many pictures you can store on a memory card. RAW is the format used by cameras (you can see cameras on the left and right side of the picture), and the numbers along the top are supposed to be MB, not GB. You can hold 320 10 MB RAW pictures on a 4 GB memory card, according to the chart.

Why2010-04-16 13:33

smbarbour:

the most flexible form of their own API, which would allow a maximum path length of 32,767 characters (instead of the standard form with a max of 256 characters)

Now that we have multiple gigabytes of RAM, not to mention obscenely large disks for swap space, why oh why oh why do you programmers keep setting maximum lengths of anything??!!! There shouldn't be a buffer overflow, or any other kind of maximum string length, or memory limit, until my hard drive is 100% full.

OK, slow down if you must, but don't tell me you can't handle a few hundred characters when I've given you a few billion characters of space. When I ask you to do something, do it, don't argue. ** Slap! **

What, you learned how to do it this way in second grade, and never reconsidered your design patterns now that we have abundant and cheap hardware resources?

I mean really, WTF???

Dan2010-04-16 13:37

Reminds me of a gag gift box that claims to have a USB-powered toaster in it.

sino2010-04-16 13:42

var i;
shenanigans();

Guillermo2010-04-16 13:42

Isn't it fairly obvious that it just has some powered USB slots, like for charging your iPod while you BBQ or something? It doesn't seem like a big deal, but hardly a failure by any means....

Outtascope2010-04-16 13:58

A Gould:

sd:

That picture of Pembroke is clearly doctored, because there's no Tim Hortons in the background.

It is entirely possible to have a Canadian picture without a Tim Hortons in it.

Usually, it's because the Timmy's is immediately behind you.

What a stereotype. I'll bet you would be hard pressed to find more than 4 Tim Horton's in a two mile radius of that hotel.

Besides, Canada is just ahead of the U.S. All #$%#$ing restaurants in Canada are Tim Horton's now. (Jean Spartaneaux, you are fined one credit for a violation of the verbal morality statute eh).

Bobble2010-04-16 14:04

Worf:

I've seen the open box one a lot. It happens because the item goes on sale, so the tag is updated (it's changed weekly), but naturally, they don't ever reprint the open-box tags.

That being said, you can either pay the sale price, or if you ask the guy nicely, he'll take the discount for open box and apply it on the sale price. So if they took 20% off the first time, he'll take 20% off the lower sale price.

Requires asking nicely though. A skill most people don't have.

I am entitled to them getting it right the first time and at a price I deem acceptable. They are violating my human rights and compromising my freedom of expression by making me have a civil conversation with a price-gun jockey. Hell, I shouldn't even have to pay for it. If I want it and like it, they should have a Paypal account where I can donate $5.

Brad2010-04-16 14:12

Erik:

Personally, I'm just confused about what the hell the OfficeMax chart is trying to tell me. Magic be damned, what the hell is this?

Across the top the file sizes should be in MB. It's trying to show how many pictures you can fit on a memory card for a given file size (RAW pictures are uncompressed large files from SLRs or high end point and shoots).

itsme2010-04-16 14:54

IIRC, I once ran into serious problems with VSS and mapped drives. Some weird incompatibility with, very specifically, mapped drives pointing to Novell storage clusters. Took some time to get to the bottom of that one.

And, yes, I am painfully aware that TRWTF was VSS. It was the best we managed to argue for at the time. Hell, when I joined, the PHB hadn't even implemented version numbers, never mind source control...

Things are better now.

Jason2010-04-16 15:06

Guillermo:

Isn't it fairly obvious that it just has some powered USB slots, like for charging your iPod while you BBQ or something? It doesn't seem like a big deal, but hardly a failure by any means....

What it really needs is an FTP site so I can fax some recipes to it.

WhiskeyJack2010-04-16 15:13

Guillermo:

Isn't it fairly obvious that it just has some powered USB slots, like for charging your iPod while you BBQ or something? It doesn't seem like a big deal, but hardly a failure by any means....

And where is this power coming from? A propane generator?

Tim McCormack2010-04-16 15:43

What you're looking at in the YouTube screencap is a JSON response protected by an infinite loop. If some malicious site manages to execute the JSON response in an attempt to steal data, it will hang forever. Extremely clever.

Fred2010-04-16 15:49

The USB port is to charge your cell phone. There is a peltier device just under each burner.

I don't know why they need 3 USB ports. It seems like more than one is wasteful.

ScottL.2010-04-16 15:52

snoofle:

Trying to rationalise the USB port on the BBQ...

It can warn you when it's running low on propane.
It can warn you when your steak is getting too well done.
It can tell you that it's time to flip your burger.
It can piggy back your internet connection and order more of whatever it is you are cooking and have it delivered to your location.
It could interface with google maps, infa-red subsystem, which could zero in on your BBQ's exact location via an internal GPS, and provide accurate food-temperature readings.
It can be infected with malware which would raise (lower) the temp and burn your dinner (give you botulism).
You could replace your Win-BBQ OS with *nix-BBQ because real chefs BBQ with *nix!

It could tweet your dinner menu to the rest of the intertubes.

somedudenamedbob2010-04-16 17:08

I love these. Some of the best Friday WTFs in a while. I definitely want that magic flash drive. The ESPN one is a great find, and one of the most believable WTFs, contrast with the youtube WTF that anyone with firebug could have done. How did they manage to get the pump printing to a different pump, and was that an easier fix than just replacing the printer? And obviously, the USB ports are where you hook up your cooking robots. One for ribs, one for burgers, and one for buns.

da Doctah2010-04-16 17:36

I assume the grill is Windows compatible, which is fine for beef, chicken, fish, even corn on the cob.

But if you want to grill penguin, you need a *nix grill.

And permission.

Maurits2010-04-16 18:08

somedudenamedbob:

How did they manage to get the pump printing to a different pump, and was that an easier fix than just replacing the printer?

All the pumps are connected to the attendant's station. When a printer runs out of paper the UI tells you to go talk to the attendant so they can print out a receipt for you.

I'm guessing that two printers are broken... the one with the sign, and the attendant's. As a temporary software fix while they wait for the hardware guy to go out and replace the printers, some clever network tech figured out how to get the pump to print on the adjacent printer.

someguy2010-04-16 19:19

badcaseofspace:

Msiexec DOES resolve the UNC path of the mapped network drive, because it doesn't necessarily run as the user account or in the desktop session that is running the installation (in case of Remote Desktop or elevated installations). That also means that msiexec does not necessarily know about the existence of the mapped drive. 1320 is a common error, not only for VS2005. This behavior was changed after Win2000.

This ^

It all depends on if and how the path is resolved in the software.

Sir Read-a-Lot2010-04-16 19:52

First part of comment goes here.
Second part of comment goes here.

Ian2010-04-16 20:21

I've stayed at that Best Western. The only thing nearby is the County of Renfrew offices. The "hard-wired WiFi" at the time was a RJ-45 jack on the wall. You were better off hijacking REAL WiFi from the county offices.

Captcha: eros - The last thing on my mind in Pembroke.

Jean-Paul Shenanigans2010-04-17 04:09

"I'd call Shenanigans", yeah, do you know how many #&&#**-ing phonecalls I get every day from people who hear this? Why can't the call Smith, or Jones, or someone with a more common name...

Brendan2010-04-17 04:24

Hotel Rated 3-5 Stars
= Hotel Rated (-2) Stars

Obviously, on a scale from 1 to 5 a score of (-2) isn't very good. It's no wonder their wired wifi is "free-hard".

-Brendan

Flan2010-04-17 05:32

Don't forget to ask for a Wifi cable at the reception.

The Wanderer2010-04-17 09:39

ContraCorners:

I almost missed the line about hard-wired WIFI because I was too busy trying to figure out why they were bragging about being rated somewhere between 3 and 5 stars.

It's simple enough.

They've been reviewed multiple times (whether by different people or by different publications or just on different occasions), and some of the time they were rated as low as 3 stars, but other times they were rated as high as 5.

Yes, they could ignore the lower ratings and just tout their 5 (or 5s), but that would be less honest and might confuse potential customers who had read a review with a lower rating (or even put them off, because they think the 5-star rating is a lie) - so they report the full range of ratings.

nwbrown2010-04-17 11:55

There was a thinkgeek april fools usb powered foreman igrill. And then they came out with a real one: http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/25/george-foreman-busts-out-the-igrill-for-reals/
In this day an age, it actually wouldn't surprise me if they had a usb port for charging a mp3 player or something. Though its still a better WTF than a gas station's printer being broken. Could the submitter really not imagine what kind of error could break a printer?

Callin2010-04-17 12:17

NSCoder:

I prefer my barbecues with firewire.

Yeah, USB can't handle steak.

CPFC2010-04-17 14:16

But everyone knows BBQs don't have a file system

frits2010-04-17 14:34

That grill has 3 more USB ports than the iPad.

lolwtf2010-04-17 22:08

I've seen that Youtube error too, digging through their scripts. It actually gets returned to a Javascript function under certain circumstances, which will blindly execute it. I don't see what purpose it serves other than to effectively crash the browser with a tight infinite loop.

Youtube Error Handling: if something goes wrong, fuck up the user's stuff as much as you can.

skeptical hippo2010-04-18 02:50

Veritass:

The reason the BBQ is discounted is because it only has USB 2.0. I am waiting for this year's model to come out with USB 3 before I bother getting one. My BBQing requires the additional throughput.

This is essential if you're going to hook up your bbq to the hardwired wifi. However the USB speed will only be the bottleneck on 5-star days; on 3- to 4-star days it will be retarded due to the lack of a Tim Hortons in the promotional photograph.

Additional statement to complete recomposition of popular article idioms.

drachenstern2010-04-18 17:07

I see somebody let go of their end of the micro-analysis of the pics, so I've decided to toss in my $.57 - The alert box that is obviously a simple message has an option to Cancel. How does an embedded filesystem on firewire attached to a propane generator handle a Cancel? Poor head , it feels like it will asplode!

Or else that's just Brillant. Get the user to handle their own cancel-action, in a tight loop!

(too over the top? I _knew_ I should've scaled back at some point)

Xythar2010-04-18 20:07

Henning Makholm:

The logo to the left of the BBQ monstrosity is that of the Australian Gas Association. Down there it is not "just in time for summer".

Yeah, I thought that was rather a strange thing to say.

caleb2010-04-18 20:19

It's to prevent other sites from using their JSON data.

AJAX has cross domain rules which would prevent that data from being read by other sites. But the same doesn't hold for script tags. So by prefixing all your messages with while(1) you prevent another site from being able to use script tags to get your data. (Using a cross site request forgery attack)

Personally, I'm just confused about what the hell the OfficeMax chart is trying to tell me. Magic be damned, what the hell is this?

Across the top the file sizes should be in MB. It's trying to show how many pictures you can fit on a memory card for a given file size (RAW pictures are uncompressed large files from SLRs or high end point and shoots).

OK, but why does it specify RAW files? A 10MB RAW file is exactly the same size as a 10MB JPEG or a 10MB TXT file.

It can warn you when it's running low on propane.
It can warn you when your steak is getting too well done.
It can tell you that it's time to flip your burger.
It can piggy back your internet connection and order more of whatever it is you are cooking and have it delivered to your location.
It could interface with google maps, infa-red subsystem, which could zero in on your BBQ's exact location via an internal GPS, and provide accurate food-temperature readings.
It can be infected with malware which would raise (lower) the temp and burn your dinner (give you botulism).
You could replace your Win-BBQ OS with *nix-BBQ because real chefs BBQ with *nix!

It could tweet the temperature of your current steak.. every 5 seconds!
Tha would surely add to your follower count!

Mayhem2010-04-19 05:14

Nick:

Brad:

Erik:

Personally, I'm just confused about what the hell the OfficeMax chart is trying to tell me. Magic be damned, what the hell is this?

Across the top the file sizes should be in MB. It's trying to show how many pictures you can fit on a memory card for a given file size (RAW pictures are uncompressed large files from SLRs or high end point and shoots).

OK, but why does it specify RAW files? A 10MB RAW file is exactly the same size as a 10MB JPEG or a 10MB TXT file.

Because a RAW file is going to be the largest possible image the camera can create, whereas if a camera supports JPEG and RAW, the JPEGS will naturally be smaller for the same image. They were trying to market the card to people who know the difference.

Mayhem2010-04-19 05:31

Maurits:

somedudenamedbob:

How did they manage to get the pump printing to a different pump, and was that an easier fix than just replacing the printer?

All the pumps are connected to the attendant's station. When a printer runs out of paper the UI tells you to go talk to the attendant so they can print out a receipt for you.

I'm guessing that two printers are broken... the one with the sign, and the attendant's. As a temporary software fix while they wait for the hardware guy to go out and replace the printers, some clever network tech figured out how to get the pump to print on the adjacent printer.

This is more interesting than it seems - on the pumps I used to support, the printer is a very very cheap and basic device hardwired to a given pinpad. Each pinpad communicates with the banking network independantly of any others around it.
Connecting a printer to multiple pinpads would be asking for trouble, as they aren't clever enough to queue print jobs so when the station got busy ...
The attendant gets sale information from the pump controller, which is a completely different system. Usually the only things an attendant can do to a pump is start/stop/release and change prices. The receipts they can reprint will not include any banking transactions at all, only total price and quantity of fuel sold.

ParkinT2010-04-19 08:36

Nibh:

I love hard-wired wifi. It's capable of gigabit transfer rates, is harder to eavesdrop on, works better in densely populated areas, and is less susceptible to electromagnetic interference. Where's the WTF?

That is all true. But someone invariably trips over the cable when I try to take my laptop into another room!!

Mr. DOS2010-04-19 09:27

Outtascope:

What a stereotype. I'll bet you would be hard pressed to find more than 4 Tim Horton's in a two mile radius of that hotel.

There are only four Timmies' in Pembroke as a whole, only two of which are within a two-mile radius of each other. None of which are within two miles of the hotel as the crow flies (the other two and the hotel are right on the 2mi border).

'Sides, why do us Canadians always get prodded for Timmies? You guys have waaay more Starbucks locations. You're just jealous.

FuBar2010-04-19 11:36

da Doctah:

I assume the grill is Windows compatible, which is fine for beef, chicken, fish, even corn on the cob.

But if you want to grill penguin, you need a *nix grill.

And permission.

sudo grill <tux |plate >mouth
I'm stopping there

Anonymoose2010-04-19 12:10

sd:

That picture of Pembroke is clearly doctored, because there's no Tim Hortons in the background.

Haha, Have you ever been to Pembroke??? I don't think it's doctorted at all.

Jay2010-04-19 12:45

Dan:

Reminds me of a gag gift box that claims to have a USB-powered toaster in it.

I once bought a toaster that proudly proclaimed on the instruction sheet that it was "computer-controlled!" with an "embedded microchip". Not a gag, an actual product. I'm not exactly sure what a computer in a toaster was supposed to do. Some gadgets are just not improved by the addition of electronics. On a toaster, I want to set the little knob to select how dark I want my toast. Then I want it to make it that dark. Why do we need a computer to do this? PS: This was the worst toaster I ever bought. The same setting on the knob would give wildly different results.

Likewise, the furnace in my house has a circuit board with a bunch of IC chips on it. What do these do? The thermostat sends a signal telling it when to shut on and off. (I can see why I'd want a computer-controlled thermostat, but I'm talking about a circuit board in the furnace quite separate from the thermostat.) I don't see why it needs any electronics beyond a relay to allow the 20 volt thermostat to control a 120 V fan.

Coming soon: Hammer with 2 USB ports!

merpius2010-04-19 18:27

Jay:

Dan:

Reminds me of a gag gift box that claims to have a USB-powered toaster in it.

I once bought a toaster that proudly proclaimed on the instruction sheet that it was "computer-controlled!" with an "embedded microchip". Not a gag, an actual product. I'm not exactly sure what a computer in a toaster was supposed to do. Some gadgets are just not improved by the addition of electronics. On a toaster, I want to set the little knob to select how dark I want my toast. Then I want it to make it that dark. Why do we need a computer to do this? PS: This was the worst toaster I ever bought. The same setting on the knob would give wildly different results.

Likewise, the furnace in my house has a circuit board with a bunch of IC chips on it. What do these do? The thermostat sends a signal telling it when to shut on and off. (I can see why I'd want a computer-controlled thermostat, but I'm talking about a circuit board in the furnace quite separate from the thermostat.) I don't see why it needs any electronics beyond a relay to allow the 20 volt thermostat to control a 120 V fan.

Coming soon: Hammer with 2 USB ports!

In the case of the toaster you bought (and, I suspect, most "computer controlled" toasters) there was no point. I can imagine, however, a toaster that took a read of the color of the bread when it is started and periodically throughout the cooking process so that it could stop toasting once it had darkened by some specified amount. That could be pretty nice. Of course such a toaster would probably cost a lot.

DES2010-04-26 15:34

re:me:

Swiping your card at one Point of Sale and having the receipt print at another simply isn't a good thing. In fact, i'd wonder if it meets PCI standards.

Most gas stations I've been to, you have to swipe your card a second time to get your receipt, because otherwise most people forget they asked for one and leave before it's printed. If that pump's printer is out of paper (or ink, but they're usually thermal), the LCD panel will instruct you to go to another pump to get your receipt.

Then again, I live in an industrialized country, not in the US.

Loren Pechtel2010-04-27 15:57

StDoodle:

The plotter WTF is fairly common; a lot of large-format printers (especially older models) have hard-coded margins in them, which can't be exceeded in any software-only way. Trust me, I've been forced to print my share of 1:0.99 scale drawings. :(

Agreed. I've programmed routines to print & plot drawings to various devices. *EVERY* device I've ever tried to support (this was all back in the days when you supported devices instead of letting Windows do it all) had a minimum margin requirement imposed by the hardware. Some devices might not have such a limit on both axes but I never hit one that didn't impose it on at least one.

I've seen a few photo printers specifically advertising about not having such margins, that certainly means the issue still exists today.

I've never printed a 1:0.99 scale drawing but the internal page size limits never matched the loaded paper.

Loren Pechtel2010-04-27 15:59

Worf:

I've seen the open box one a lot. It happens because the item goes on sale, so the tag is updated (it's changed weekly), but naturally, they don't ever reprint the open-box tags.

That being said, you can either pay the sale price, or if you ask the guy nicely, he'll take the discount for open box and apply it on the sale price. So if they took 20% off the first time, he'll take 20% off the lower sale price.

Requires asking nicely though. A skill most people don't have.

Yes. It's not a WTF, it's just the result of price changes. The big computer store around here is Fry's and you'll find all sorts of mistagged items. The shelf tags will almost always be right but tags on the items will never be redone when the price changes. So long as you realize what's up it's not a big deal.

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